Share your EASY make-from-scratch meals

[holidayys]

Please share your meals that can be made with very minimal prep time. We have 4 children under 5yo, so I can't leave them unattended long enough to do much more than chop the odd carrot.

Yes, we will eat some ready meals, jar sauces and takeaways. Just looking for inspiration to increase the number of made-from scratch, minimally processed meals we eat.**

Ideas so far:

• Jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn
• Chicken soup (frozen pre-chopped onion and garlic, pre-diced chicken, potato, carrot, broccoli, stock cubes)
• Spaghetti with peas, broccoli, smoked salmon and creme fraiche

** Obviously these terms don't have a precise definition. As its my thread, I'll say it means trying to use very few items with long ingredient lists. Fresh, tinned, frozen, pre-chopped foods are ok. As are traditionally processed foods like cheese, as they have 1-2 ingredients. Sausages, ready meals, dolmio, oven chips, baked beans are out.

I bought this recently, and all of the recipes can be prepped in 10 minutes -

www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Family-Food-Prepped-Minutes/dp/0241534704/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?adgrpid=133087785829&gclid=CjwKCAiA7vWcBhBUEiwAXieIthVyA5jN8XSfnxilBll3ne2QHVmjopUbpwCLtxdvNxNcIPr99M0WahoCTiEQAvD_BwE&hvadid=583157690576&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=1007416&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14375592358247587109&hvtargid=kwd-317258169823&hydadcr=3442_1758694&keywords=fast+family+food&qid=1671274569&sr=8-1

Stick some cherry tomatoes in a tray and cook in oven. Probably about 20 minutes I think. About 10/11 minutes in to that time add add a Boursin cheese round and continue to cook. Boil some pasta and then mix it all together.

All of my meals are quick because I’m knackered after work!

Tray bakes are good - chop veg (or use frozen) stick some oil and seasoning on and then protein on top. Favourites here are broccoli and green beans with salmon, baby potatoes, peppers, red onion and mushroom with chicken thighs.

Gnocchi pan fried until crisp, at the end chuck in quartered toms, some spinach and stir through pesto. Can also add chorizo.

Carbonara! Very quick.

Make homemade chicken nugs when the kiddos are in bed (blend chicken breast with herbs and spices, and en egg then shape into nugget shapes and coat in egg and breadcrumb) freeze them flat and then just stick the in the oven.

Soups are good. Roasted tomato with cheese sandwiches always goes down well.

Invest in a slow cooker so you can have stews and savoury mince with dumplings without having to keep an eye on it.

Tray bake meals are usually dead simple. I have both the green tray roasting tin cook book and the Roasting tin cook book.
Using a slow cooker was a great help in winter when the kids were small. Although you still have to do a certain amount of preparing it was just using your time in a different way eg, me or DH would do a quick prep when the kids were in bed or just before they got up and there was next to nothing to do when it was tea time. I used to use a timer on the slow cooker so it would switch on when I wanted it to.

Omlette
Quesadillas with leftover chicken
Pasta and pesto
Dirty rice
Pasta soup

I posted too soon. I meant to add without sounding too obvious it is worth spending a couple of hours making lots of shepherds pies, soups, spag bols etc to freeze if you have a freezer.

It was a light bulb moment a couple when my children were very young that either me or DH spent a bit of time making these meals and portion them up. Some were single portions and some family sized. I was able to use up the heavily processed beige foods in the freezer and replace with my meals. I still do it now even though the kids are now adults! I haven't got used to not cooking for four!

Spanish omelette or frittata, serve with a salad if liked

Pasta Primavera, use your favourite green vegetables

Chicken stir fry

Sausages & potatoes, bake the sausages in the oven, do baked potatoes at the same time, or cook in an air fryer and serve with frozen or Idahoan instant mash.

Sausage and mixed bean (or lentil) casserole, use tinned beans or lentils for speed

Quick Chorizo casserole with chickpeas or beans
You need
Pack of cooking chorizo, sliced
packet lardons (optional)
1 tin chickpeas or cannellini beans 1 tin tomatoes
smoked Spanish paprika
For two to three people (if it's for four, use two tins of beans and two tins of tomatoes)
Fry the chorizo slices and lardons in a dry pan or casserole dish until the fat runs and they look a little crisp. Add 1-2 teaspoons of smoked spanish paprika (hot or mild, whichever you prefer) cook a minute or two longer then add the chickpeas or beans, undrained, add the tinned tomatoes . Simmer 10-15 minutes. (Longer is fine). You can add chopped onions and garlic at the start if you like but they are not essential. Also chopped carrots, ditto.
Serve the stew with flatbreads or garlic bread. Plus salad if you like.

Following. Need some meal inspo myself!

Thanks all. Going to look up some new traybake recipes too.

This carbonara recipe is so easy and tastes amazing!

www.jocooks.com/recipes/creamy-carbonara/

Pasta & pesto (add tuna/chicken for extra protein)

Good thread
Omelette with additions, baked potatoes, gnocchi pan fried with pesto or garlic mushrooms and cream, sachets of rice with extras added.

I agree about using the slow cooker/batch cooking and tray bakes.
Pizza bases with your own toppings are nice too and allow a bit of variation in the meal if you make a few. Also good for leftover lunch.

Yes tray bakes are your friend here, we do a really simple salmon one which is just salmon fillets baby new potatoes, some lemon wedges and some pesto, pop kit in the oven and then about 10 mins before being ready add green beans, broccoli and peas to the tray, season really well and drizzle over a little extra pesto.

Tuna pasta bake is another of my go to's. Personally we're prefer tomato based sauces so make a really basic one with chopped tomatoes, onion (frozen diced red onion is ideal), some dried herbs and balsamic vinegar. Add this sauce to cooked pasta, a tin of sweetcorn and a tin of tuna. Pour the lot into an oven proof dish, top with torn pieces of bread and mozzarella and bake.

Roast chicken is very maintenance friendly and throw in some little potatoes for the last 40 minutes then just add veg and bistro gravy.

Salmon fillet / any white fish topped with pesto ,oven roasted tomatoes and broccoli

Roast cauliflower spears with Chinese five spice and olive oil with couscous and peas

Sausage casserole - slow cooker or oven with French bread and butter

Beef stew and dumplings

Just seen no sausages so ignore sausage casserole

Tuna pasta bake.

2 tins tuna
2 tins tomatoes
Squeeze tomato puree
Half a bag frozen peppers
Reasonable amount frozen onions
Frozen sweetcorn
Dried herbs
Salt and pepper

Mix the lot in a pan till its warm. In a generously sized oven tray add half a bag of dried pasta, pour the mix on top of the pasta and stir together. The mix should be quite wet, that's how you want it. Half fill one of the tomato cans with water and pour that on top of the bake too
Stick in a 200 degree oven for about 30 mins. Take pasta bake out, top with plenty of cheese and put back in oven till cheese is melted and brown.

When you do a tray bake double the quantities and freeze the extra for another day. Make that a habit and then plan to use the frozen meals each week.

That will give you breathing space to think about other meal options.

I have 4 children too, inc a 3 month old and just turned 2 year old… so I feel your pain 🤣

I like to roast a chicken one day. I put peppers, courgette, mushrooms, onion and wedged potatoes underneath it while it roasts, then have that all for a meal. I save leftover chicken and have faijitas the next day, they need minimal prep as the chicken is already cooked.

i also do slow cooked ham joint with jacket potatoes and save the left over ham and do a pasta bake (with lots of veg added).

So that’s 4 days meals.

I really like Bored of lunch and taking twins on insta for meal suggestions. Lots of air fryer/slow cooker/tray bakes.

I like to have dinners underway by 10am. Then I know we’ll eat that night.

our oven has a timer on/off function which is an absolute lifesaver as things are literally sitting in it, ready to go!

*taming twins!

Ps I try not to cook anything that needs ‘hob’ time, near eating time, unless it’s pasta or rice as I just know with activities and homework I won’t have the time to devote 30 mins to standing at the hob.

Frittata is another of my go to's. I do mine in the oven so you just leave it to do it's thing. Personally I find it really great for using up odds and sods so what goes in varies each time. I often roast a big tray of peppers, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes with some garlic. I find it really versatile perfect to pop in a fritata, make a quick pasta sauce or mix with cous cous and serve with some harissa chicken.